Mumbai: Following Deepika Padukone’s exit from the sequel of ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, sources close to the film suggest that the makers are mulling roping in Sai Pallavi as SUM-80.
“Nothing has been finalised yet. But yes, the makers are looking at Sai to play SUM-80 after Deepika’s exit. They think she’ll be a perfect fit for the role,” a source close to the film was quoted as saying by HT.
The source added, “All these are just rumours because nothing has been finalised yet. Please wait for official confirmation.”
However, there has been no confirmation about the same from Vyjayanthi Movies, the producers of the Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan-starrer.
For the unversed, Deepika shot for ‘Kalki’ sequel for 20 days before exiting the project over remuneration issues.
“Deepika Padukone’s demand for a pay hike — significantly higher than 25% — stemmed from her conviction that she is irreplaceable. The real turning point lay in how her management approached the negotiations. Deepika was fully aware of the sequel and the strong, performance-driven role created for her. In fact, she had already filmed nearly 20 days of Part 2 while shooting Part 1 — something director Nag Ashwin himself confirmed in several media interactions. Her schedule for the next phase was always meant to be decided mutually, so the claim of a date clash holds no merit,” an insider told the portal.
On September 18, confirming Deepika’s exit from the film, Vyjayanthi Movies wrote on X, “This is to officially announce that @deepikapadukone will not be a part of the upcoming sequel of #Kalki2898AD. After careful consideration, we have decided to part ways. Despite the long journey of making the first film, we were unable to find a partnership. And a film like @Kalki2898AD deserves that commitment and much more. We wish her the best with her future projects.”
‘Kalki 2898 AD’ was released in theatres in June 2024, and collected ₹1042 crore worldwide.
